Naturalist

Friends of Murrysville Parks

Bird

Plant

Friends Of Murrysville Parks’ mission is: “To protect and restore Flora and Fauna in the municipal parks for all of us to enjoy.”

Murrysville started a park volunteer program in 1999. As the volunteer coordinator I initially organized projects such as trail improving and trash collecting. Quickly, we volunteers discovered the problem of the invasive plants; garlic mustard, multi flora roses, and tree of heaven were the first species we have targeted to remove form the parks.

In Duff Park in 2003, 12 people adopted a trail or a half trail to pull out garlic mustard and burning bush. This has changed to many hikers participating in pulling garlic mustard. Every year we post a couple of signs with the request to help with the garlic mustard and we put large plastic barrels in strategic areas in Duff Park for people to deposit their invasive plants. One volunteer empties these barrels every week. Brownies, girl scouts, boy scouts, eagle scout projects, church groups, and Day of Caring all have been participating in invasive plant removal! We work almost every day if the weather is cooperating.

Although it seems as if we have many volunteers, this is not the case anymore. Please help us find more people who like the outdoors, love native vegetation and wildlife, enjoy doing hard physical, or less demanding work… all while hanging out with a bunch of equally interested park workers. Please call Pia van de Venne at 724 733 2770 or email me at <pia.parkprotector@gmail.com>

Projects within the next few weeks are: (no dates set) almost every Saturday morning at 10 am, weather permitting, some park work will be done, except some Saturdays when a park walk is organized. Many Sundays we will have a project going on as well.